Syllabus and Assessment Requirements


Participants will read the assigned chapters and then respond to questions/activity posted on the wiki site. Each participant must respond to at least 3 other posts.

Module 1 - June 11 through June 15
  • Welcome, Introductions, Setting Norms
  • Review of course expectations, goals and assessment
  • On own, Read Chapter 1- Why Educational Achievement Matters and Chapter 2 – The Case for Formative Assessment
  • Discuss why achievement matters and why formative assessment will improve our teaching and therby the learning.
  • Respond to Study Guide Questions for Chapter 1 & 2
  • Each participant must post comments to at least three other participants
  • Participants may pose a question of their own to the group


Module 2 - June 16 through June 22
  • Welcome, Review of previous class, Lingering Questions
  • Review of Agenda
  • On own, Read Chapter 3-Clarifying, Sharing and Understanding Learning Intentions and Success Criteria & Chapter 4 Eliciting evidence of Learners’ Achievement
  • Discuss why learning intentions are important and when and how to use them.
  • Respond to Study Guide Questions for Chapter 3 & 4
  • Each participant must post comments to at least three other participants
  • Participants may pose a question of their own to the group


Module 3 - June 23 through June 29
  • Welcome, Review of previous class, Lingering Questions
  • Review of Agenda
  • On own, Read Chapter 5- Providing Feedback That Moves Learnig Forward and Chapter 6- Activating Students as Instructional Resources for One Another.
  • Discuss how the quality of feedback impact the future actions of students and teachers. How can feedback cause students to own their learning and how do we activate students as learning resources for one another so that they become owners of their learning?
  • Respond to Study Guide Questions for Chapter 5 & 6
  • Each participant must post comments to at least three other participants
  • Participants may pose a question of their own to the group


Module 4 - June 30 through July 6
  • Welcome, Review of previous class, Lingering Questions
  • Review of Agenda
  • On own, Read Chapter 7- Activating Students as Owners of Their Own Learning
  • Discuss the practical techniques offered in this chapter, the difficulties in changing students’ mindsets, and do we accept the premise that teachers are the most powerful influence on how much a student learns and that all teachers can be even better.
  • Respond to Study Guide Questions for Chapter 7 & Epilogue
  • Each participant must post comments to at least three other participants
  • Reflection Activity- What is your school’s current status with assessment, strategies, grading, and creating self-motivated learners. What are the next steps your building needs to consider for embedded professional development?
  • Create a Presentation for the staff (your building, your grade level, or team). Decide who is responsible for what part of the presentation.


Module 5 – August 22- 24
  • Finalize presentation
  • Present to staff (for participants outside of Goodrell, talk to your administrator about who to share your information with)
  • Develop Action Steps/Plan based on feedback from staff and input from group
  • Create plan and distribute


Assessment: In order to earn a passing grade for Heartland credit, each participant will:
  • read the assigned chapters
  • be reflective when answering the study guide questions for each Module
  • post to at least 3 other participants posts
  • complete all other work assigned as a part of the course.
  • will work with other participants to develop a presentation and action plan
  • in order to pass the class, all work must be completed on the wiki in a timely manner in order to benefit the group.